This invention both utilizes and improves on technology that is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,609, granted May 26, 1992, and entitled Method of Converting Logs And Resultant Product, and in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,398 and the aforementioned co-pending application Ser. No. 11/058,052.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,609 discloses utilizing log segments and low density material, such as foam plastic, to make load-bearing timbers to be used for walls, beams, joists and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,398 and pending application Ser. No. 11/058,052 discloses making cellular cores and attaching side panels or facing members to the cores to make structural members. The present invention relates to laminated structural members having cellular cores and facing members in which the cell walls are made from wood, the grain of which is orientated to best enable the structural members to carry loads that would crush the low density filler material, such as foam plastic, if used alone to form the core.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method which enables economically acceptable manufacture of cellular cores having cell walls made of wood, and to structural member formed of the cellular cores and one or more facing members. It is a further object of the invention to utilize the cellular cores to better make structural members that are connected together by tongue and groove or mortise and tenon joints.